Stewards penalise Verstappen in Brazil: This is his penalty
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The stewards have given Max Verstappen a five-second time penalty for an incident during the virtual safety car. The Red Bull Racing driver was investigated for allegedly driving too fast while preparing an overtaking attempt on Oscar Piastri. Due to the time penalty, Verstappen lost a place to Charles Leclerc. He is not classified in fourth. He will also get one penalty point on his licence, taking his total to seven in the last 12 months.
Stewards announce verdict on Verstappen
Verstappen was on Piastri's tail during the virtual safety car and commented that the McLaren driver might slow down to give his teammate Lando Norris an advantage. Just before the virtual safety car ended, the Dutchman almost drove alongside the Australian, only to ease off his throttle slightly. However, this did not prove to be the reason for the FIA to investigate Verstappen.
During a virtual safety car situation, drivers must not go faster than a predetermined lap and sector time. Drivers are shown the times on their steering wheel dashboard, allowing them to adjust their driving speed to stay within the rules. For Formula 1 drivers, the aim is to stay as close to that target time as possible but not go faster.
According to the stewards, Verstappen failed to drive within the limits, so they decided to impose a five-second time penalty on him. For this reason, he lost his third place and was classified as fourth in the sprint race at Interlagos.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton